International and Industry Action Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) has added two talented young artists to a select group of APO Remix the Orchestra scholarship recipients. Bob Fa’atiga (19) and Danielle Peeni (24) were chosen to record their …International and Industry ActionAuckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) has added two talented young artists to a select group of APO Remix the Orchestra scholarship recipients. Bob Fa’atiga (19) and Danielle Peeni (24) were chosen to record their original hip-hop tracks with urban music producer Anonymouz(Matthew Faiumu Salapu) and orchestral musicians from the APO. The tracks will be available for free download, and each will be set to a music video. Instrumentalist/rapper Bob and singer/rapper Danielle were among 25 applicants to the APO’s ‘Remix Out West’ workshop, held in February at Corban Estate Arts Centre, Henderson. Their stand-out efforts saw Bob, Danielle and three others invited to perform live in Aotea Square with Anonymouz, members of Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and APO Remix mentors King Kapisiand Cherie Matheson. Following this performance, which was part of Auckland Arts Festival’s family day, Bob and Danielle were offered the scholarships.Read more…

Ryan Kershaw is preparing to head to California in May to meet up with the publisher of Kershaw’s upcoming book ‘Use Your Buzz To Play The Guitar’. He’s also recently been interviewed on radio WGN in Chicago about an e-book he is writing at the moment: ’5 Ways To Save The Music Industry’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohYfrhN0Dwg&feature=share

The Big Day Out will come back to life in 2014. The day-long music festival took a breather in 2013, with promoter Ken West stating the festival was no longer financially viable to be held in NZ as well as Australia. The festival last took a break in 1998. Auckland BDO promoter Campbell Smith today confirmed the festival will return to the new central location of Western Springs Stadium and Park in 2014. “We have spent the summer working with the Australian Big Day Out team and American partners, C3, the promoters of other major festivals including Lollapolooza, on a plan to bring the BDO back to life in New Zealand…We strongly felt that there was real desire for the event to return to Auckland.” The 2014 event has been touted as “a new event for Auckland” and a “multi-stage music, art and culture event created and curated specifically for its New Zealand audience.” Read more…

The APRA Professional Development Awards (PDAs) are presented biennially to the shining lights of the New Zealand songwriting industry. Grants are awarded in three compositional categories –Pop/Contemporary, Film & Television and Classical, with each recipient receiving $12,000 towards their professional development plan. This year’s Professional Development plans include an orchestral composition workshop at New York University, an eight month composition diploma in Italy and working with three of the USA’s most influential rock songwriters and producers. APRA NZ congratulates the 2013 Professional Development Award recipients: Nick Gaffaney (Pop/Contemporary), Karl Steven (Film & TV) and Alex Taylor (Classical). As well as the financial award from APRA NZ, additional support will be provided to each of the three recipients to further assist with their plans. Legal and accounting consultations will be provided by Mclaughlin Law and Entertainment Accounting Services, studio time will be contributed by Roundhead Studios and product will be provided by Logitech UE. www.apra.co.nz Around the World

40 Years of Music Industry Change, In 40 Seconds or Less…
Digital Music News have done a very cool graph showing the changing patterns of music consumption over the last 40 years. Each pie shows the revenue contribution from various formats, 1973-present, based on RIAA revenue figures. If you want to see it again, just wait for the animation to start over. This is US-based data, and each pie represents 100% of total recording revenue.

New release fanfare
Nicely timed for Record Store Day, Auckland band Superturtle are releasing their new album ‘Beat Manifesto’ on Sarang Bang Records, available on vinyl or CD in all good stores April 20th. They bare celebrating that evening at the Thirsty Dog Tavern in Karangahape Rd. Special guests Salon Kingsadore, Forest Shakes and Goon are also joining in the celebrations. It’s an early start at 8pm – space out to the psych-jazz of Salon Kingsadore, embrace the last days of summer with Forest Shakes then do the indie two-step with Superturtle before last drinks and a pogo with Goon. Read more…

The Bads‘ critically acclaimed new album Travel Light is a collection of 11 songs, all recorded at The Lab Studios in Auckland, engineered by Olly Harmer and mastered at Metropolis in London by Tony Cousins.
As well as founding band members, Brett Adams and Dianne Swann, the album also features regular band mates, Wayne Bell (Dave Dobbyn), Dave Kahn (Don McGlashan) and Mike Hall (Pluto), with guest appearances from Chris O’Connor (Phoenix Foundation) and Ben King (Goldenhorse). Travel Light has come together beautifully with lyrical and musical references to the twists and turns they have experienced throughout their musical career. The Bads are lovingly adding the new songs into their live repertoire and still feel that childlike thrill at composing a song and seeing it through to its full potential in the studio and in a live setting. Read more…On the live front
Independent label Muzai Records will mark their fourth birthday this NZ Music Month (May) across Auckland’s Whammy and Wine Cellar venues. Seven bands will take the stage for the celebration on May 18, with entry an easy $10 on the door. The line-up includes: god bows to math, Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing, The Bemsha Swing, Proton Beast, Deer Park, Mean Girls, HDSPNS.www.muzairecords.com

Auckland radio station 95bFM have announced the lineup of their rather large bStreet party, happening across venues in Karangahape Rd on Thursday May 2. Bands/artists playing: Totems, High Society, Wilberforces, Spring Break, SJD, Randa, Joe Blossom, Trick Mammoth (DUN), Leno Lovecraft, Drab Doo-Riffs, Las Tetas, The Raw Nerves, Thee Rum Coves, Rackets, Dirtbag Radio DJs, X-Ray Fiends, Sex Pest, PCP Eagles, The Cavemen, bFM DJs Zac & Lucy, Andrew Tidball, Tina Turntables, Delaney Davidson, Swampland, DJ Netti Page. bStreet is also sharing K’Road on 2nd May with First Thursdays, the mishmash of visual arts, music, & performance. First Thursdays kicks off the night from 6-9pm all along K’Road, and bStreet continues the party from 8pm til LATE. See 95bFM.com to stay up with the play on all the details.

Six60’s second Auckland show tonight (April 11) at The Powerstation and their Hamilton show this Saturday 13th have sold out, as has the Dunedin show at Union Hall on Saturday April 20, bringing the total number of sell out shows to eight in the 10 date nationwide Tour. This leaves one remaining show in Christchurch at The Bedford at CPSA on Wednesday April 17, with tickets available through nztix.co.nz and Cosmic Ticketing. Six60 head to Europe in May and will be based in Berlin for a few months to focus on the release of their multi-platinum selling debut album, they will also be touring and performing in Europe and the United Kingdom, including Glastonbury in June. The band have also announced the full list of local support artists opening each show this month: Name UL, Haumoana, Element.X & Mjuzik, Hannah Leigh, West Coast Fruit Co, PleasePlease, Laura Hunter, Odyssey, Tali and Summer Thieves. Full info can be found at www.six60.co.nz.Taite Music Prize 2013: Featured albums
With less than a week to go before we find out which New Zealand album can be considered the best released in 2013, here is a look at two more finalists – Opossom and SJD.

You can also catch up with the latest video vignettes of our finalists here, thanks to the NZ Herald. Video chats with Aaradhna, @Peace, Home Brew, SJD and Collapsing Cities are now viewable. And you can join NZ Herald Online this coming Wednesday April 17th for the fourth annual Taite Music Prize, streamed live and in full from Auckland’s Galatos Live, thanks to NZOnAir.Opossom – ‘Electric Hawaii’

After eight years fronting The Mint Chicks, Kody Nielson unveiled Opossom, with band mates Bic Runga – in the role of chanteuse and multi-instrumentalist – and Michael Logie on bass guitar duties.
Their debut album Electric Hawaii was released in June 2012. Chris Nielson (a regular Mint Chicks collaborator) played trumpet, and the album was home-written, recorded and mixed by Kody with just the final mastering courtesy of Howie Weinberg.

Here’s an interview with Kody about Opossom by Gareth Shute, from NZ Musican Magazine.

SJD is the nom-de-disque of Sean James Donnelly. Since his first self-released album ’3′ he has unleashed a series of five stunning albums for the Round Trip Mars label. Amongst those, ‘Lost Soul Music’ introduced a wider audience to Sean’s unique vision with songs like Tree People and A Boy, while ‘Southern Lights’ picked up two Tuis in the 2005 NZ Music Awards and included Superman, You’re Crying and the much licensed, The Clean sampling From A To B Or Not To Be. Subsequent album ‘Songs From A Dictaphone’ and ‘Dayglo Spectres’ further solidified Sean’s impeccable rep with stone cold classics like Beautiful Haze, I Wrote This Song For You and No Telling Where.

Following a stint as co-producer and keyboard player in Neil Finn’s Pajama Club, and marshalling an all star cast for the Breast Cancer Foundation release of Chris Knox’s Not Given Lightly, Sean returned to his solo synthesized roots with a set of new songs on the highly acclaimed 2012 release Elastic Wasteland.